


When Uncle Isn't Home

by Andalusa93



Series: Prompts [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/M, Flower/Tattoo AU, Needles and Roses AU, Prompt Fic, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 05:11:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3678978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andalusa93/pseuds/Andalusa93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymous asked: 'NaR prompt: Fili and Kili goofing off at the flower shop but actually making some really great arrangements that bring in some /unusual/ customers. Do with it as you please. :)'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hedgehogs and Hypericum

Uncle Thorin had taken the day off, he had gone off on some errand and he had taken Bilbo with him, so there was no escaping the shop to go over the road and find any entertainment in his company. Kili leaned back on the stool behind the counter and sighed, bored didn't even begin to describe how he felt. He glanced towards the back room where some back stock was kept, Fili was in there rummaging about pretending to be busy.

Ever since their mother had made that last visit to their grandfather, Fili had been acting all grown up and responsible, it was annoying. Just because they were adults didn't mean they had to behave like them. Still, all this sitting around had made Kili restless, so he wandered into the back room to find his older brother crouched near the door tidying the shelves, Kili just watched him for a while, lamenting the loss of his fun brother and resigning himself to the fact he would have to put up with this boring version instead.

"Are you gonna help me or not?" Fili eventually asked. "'Cause if not, get out of my way."

"I'm bored." Kili stated, picking a piece of foam on a nearby shelf.

"Then give me hand with this." 

"I'm not that bored."

Fili sighed and stood to face him, the stern look on his face making up for the fact he was a few inches shorter than his little brother. "What do you want to do?"

"I dunno." Kili said with a shrug, he had managed to gouge a small crater in the foam he was still fiddling with, as his gaze fell on the minute distruction he had caused, his eyes widened and he smiled. "Never mind." He grabbed the foam and went back into the shop wielding the block as if it was some grand prize. 

On his way past the main flower display Kili grabbed handfuls of various flowers and placed them on the counter, then he got to work. He wasn't the best at arrangements, he had a tenancy to snap the stems as he pushed them into the foam, but this task kept his hands busy and his mouth shut. Something he was sure his grumpy brother would appreciate, Kili thought with a snort. 

It was when a stem snapped for about the millionth time that Kili lost his patience, he pushed the half finished arrangement away with a frustrated snarl, he was so involved with the project he didn't notice that a customer had been waiting for him to serve her. When Kili looked up he was speechless, the woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair was the colour of fire reflected on copper, her eyes were grass green, bright and alert, and her full lips were curved in a slight grin as she watched him struggle with the arrangement. 

"Sorry!" Kili blurted, then mentally kicked himself as his voice came out much higher than intended, he took a breath and put on his best smile. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, um." She blinked and their eyes met, her smile faltered. "I just need a small bouquet, something simple, for a friend."

"Sure, sure, anything in particular?"

"I don't really know." She looked over the main display of flowers opposite the counter, then she spotted something and walked towards it. "These are nice, he'd like these." The woman said, and picked up a sprig of hypericum berries.

"Hm, I'll put something together for you." Kili promised and moved from behind the counter. "Anything to avoid?"

"I don't know." She admitted again, a slightly embarrassed look passed over her face. "They're for my boss' son."

"Right, so nothing too fancy?" He plucked the berries out of her hand and turned the stem over in his own, trying to think what would go well with them.

She laughed, and oh, Kili could have swooned, soft and melodic despite the hint of bitterness behind the sound. "If it was for my boss, the flowers could be guided in gold and crusted with gems and he wouldn't consider it ostentatious." Kili raised an eye brow and smirked as her face reddened slightly. "Oh, that was completely unprofessional."

Kili chuckled and picked up some baby's breath and a few fern leaves, he considered them for a moment and made his way back to the counter. He noticed Fili leaning against the doorway to the back room, a shit eating grin on his face. Kili rolled his eyes and silently told him to 'bugger off'. Fili waggled his eyebrows as he backed into the other room to make himself scarce.

"What is this supposed to be, anyway?" The woman gestured towards the arrangement he had given up on as she followed him to the counter. 

"It's a hedgehog." Kili said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His hands busy putting the bouquet together with barely a second thought. 

"A hedgehog?" She repeated and took a closer look, then she smiled and glanced at him. "I see now." Her eyes dropped to his hands as they pulled the stems together in a sort of pattern, the flowers, berries and leaves coming together beautifully. "You're very good at this, is it your shop?"

"Oh, ha!" Kili shook his head. "No, just watching it for my Uncle while he's away." He wrapped the finished bouquet in plastic and tied it in place with a piece of string. "All done."

"Wow, that's wonderful." She took the small bouquet and inspected it very briefly, she looked back to the arrangement, then at Kili. "I know someone who would love that once it's finished."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he rescues hedgehogs, adores them." She explained. "He's a bit eccentric, but he's absolutely lovely, how long would it take to finish?"

"Um, not long."

"Great!" She handed over some money for the bouquet, even if Kili was more than willing to let her have it for free. "I know it says you close at five, but I won't be able to get back here before then."

"Don't worry about it," Kili said with a wave of his hand. "Just come by when you can."

"Thank you, honestly, thank you so much." The way she smiled then was so radiant it almost blinded him. "I'm Tauriel, by the way." And she held out a hand.

"Um, Kili." He shook her hand. "I'll see you a little bit after five." Then Tauriel left the shop with many backward glances and shy smiles, Kili tried not to stare, he failed miserably.  
Fili appeared in the doorway again, he grinned at his younger brother who buried his face in his hands. "That was painful." Said Fili. "Actually, physically painful to witness."

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of the [Needles and Roses AU](https://archiveofourown.org/series/206639)  
> This will have a second chapter, but I will finish the rest of the prompts first.  
> I have a [Tumblr!](http://andalusa.tumblr.com)


	2. Chapter 2

It was five o'clock, the sign had been flipped on the door, Kili was fidgeting on the stool, glancing between the clock and the door, waiting. Fili swept the floor, a grin that threatened to turn into some sort of laughter spread over his face as he listened to his younger brother tapping nervously on the counter. 

"Do you think she'll actually come?" Kili asked, the tapping noise stopped briefly while he spoke, but started again almost immediately when the clock ticked over to a minute past five. "What if she forgot?"

"Oh, for goodness sake." Fili sighed and rolled his eyes, he leaned the broom against the wall. "She'll be here." He assured. "She just has to, y'know, get here." He went to the back room to fetch the dustpan to collect the small pile of dust, leaves and petals he had gathered. 

Kili sighed as well, his fingers stopped their dance across the counter top and began to fiddle with the finished hedgehog arrangement. His brother caught his eye, that stupid smile on his face as he knelt to sweep the rubbish into the dustpan, he couldn't help but scoff slightly, of course Fili had never had to deal with anything like this. For as long as Kili could remember, his older brother didn't show any sort of interest in anyone, that was fine, except for when he poked fun at Kili, it wasn't ever mean, just an elbow in the ribs or a sly wink. 

The door eventually opened, and in stepped Tauriel with an older looking man close behind. Kili immediately stood up, he didn't know why, it just seemed like the thing to do. Tauriel smiled at him, dimples pressing into her cheeks.

"Hi." She said, she sounded breathless, although he couldn't see why, the man with her had a walking stick, there's no way they could have been walking fast enough to be out of breath. "Sorry I'm late." 

Kili shot a glance to his older brother, who had diposited the contents of the dust pan in the bin and once against stood leaning in the doorway to the back room, warning him to not say a word. Fili just shrugged, eyes wide, the very picture of false innocence. 

"I know you're closed, but when I told Radagast about this place he wanted to come by and have a look around." Tauriel explained, gesturing to the man, Radagast, beside her. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, no, it's absolutely fine." Kili assured her, brushing away the apology with a shake of his head. 

Radagast spotted the hedgehog arrangement on the counter and walked over to it. "Now, that is wonderful, may I?" He asked, Kili nodded, then Radagast leaned his walking stick against the side of the desk and picked the arrangement up for a closer inspection. "I can't quite believe I've walked passed this shop so many times and never noticed it." The older man mumbled to himself as he looked at the assembled flowers in his hands.

"It's easy enough to miss." Fili said from his spot in the doorway, he shrugged when Radagast turned to look at him. "Our Uncle doesn't believe in advertising."  
"Indeed." Radagast pursed his lips as he regarded the flowers in hands once more. 

-

The small talk eventually came to an end, the old man purchased his arrangement and made his way home, declining the offer of a walking companion from Tauriel 'you have prior engagements, dear' he had said, 'don't let me keep you from them any longer'. And with a bit of ushering from his older brother, Kili soon found himself sat at small table in the beer garden of the local pub opposite Tauriel, captivated as she talked about her afternoon at work.

Kili sipped at his lager, overly aware that they had agreed to go for coffee but had somehow ended at The Archers, offering grins and laughs when Tauriel's stories prompted them. Their conversation was easy, flowing from one topic to another, and they soon found they had a lot in common.

"What's that?" Tauriel asked, pointing at the pendant Kili wore around his neck. She leaned forward, a hand stretched out as if to touch it, but decided against it and picked up her drink instead.

Kili tugged at the leather strap around his neck. "A gift from my mum." He said. "I've had it since before I was kid." He lifted the flat, black stone so she could see it better. "It has runes on it, see?" Tauriel nodded as he pointed out the worn engravings on one side of it. "I used to pretend it was a spell that could make me disappear, it's silly, really."

"No, it's... sweet." She smiled and plucked the stone out of Kili's grip to look closer, he had to lean forward so the leather didn't dig into his neck, not that he minded too much. Kili watched her as she regarded the pendant with sad eyes before she handed it back to him. "I never knew my parents." Tauriel said with a small sigh. 

"I'm so sorry." 

"Don't be, I'm not." She sighed again, her eyes lingered on the pendant that now rested against Kili's chest. "Like I said, I never knew them, and I was lucky to end up with a family that treats me well."

"You're still living with them, then?" Kili asked.

Tauriel smiled at him. "Yes and no, I work for Thranduil now, and accommodation comes with the job."

"Wait, wait." Kili held up a hand to pause the conversation for a moment. "You work for Tranduil? Tranduil, the owner of Greenwood Park?" When Tauriel nodded he burst out into laughter. 

"Why?" She was obviously confused, but smiled along with him anyway. "What's so funny?"

"I just... sorry." He chuckled and shook his head. "When me and Fili were younger we sort of got into a bit of trouble at the park, my Uncle never forgave Thranduil for how he dealt with it." 

Tauriel gasped and her glorious green eyes widened, almost as if she recognised the incident Kili was referring to. "Were you the boys he locked in cellar?"

Kili started laughing again. "It was so stupid." He said once he had calmed down again. "We were playing in the wood and somehow ended up on his private land, some security guys rounded us up and took us to the house. Thranduil threatened to call the police when we couldn't give him a good enough excuse as to why we were there, one of the security guys told him that was a bit extreme so he got our Uncle's number out of Fili's phone." Kili snorted, unable to keep himself from giggling. "So, Fili got all high and mighty, accusing Thranduil of stealing his phone, really kicking off, _that's_ why he put us in the cellar."

"That's awful, I'm so sorry!" Tauriel looked sympathetic, but there was a wide smile on her face as she listened to the story.

"Anyway, we got bored of waiting, Fili broke the window open so we could get out, obviously not realising the stream that ran through the park went right by that window. So we climb out, fall right into the stream and I cut my leg open on a rock! I've still got a scar." Kili paused and glanced up at Tauriel who had thrown her head back, her shoulders shook as she tried to contain her laughter. 

"So we're soaking wet, I've got this massive gash down my leg, and we're trying to sneak away when the security guards come down into the cellar and see that we're gone. They're shouting at use from the window, so we run for it down the drive and we see Uncle's car coming up to the house, he sees us and stops, demanding to know what happened."  
"We tell him, he disappears into the house and comes back, like, half an hour later, red as anything, bundles us into the car and drives us home. He never told us what happened, but he forbade us from ever going back."

By the time Kili finished his story Tauriel was gasping for breath, she wiped away a tear when her laughter subsided and looked at him again. "That's so bad."  
Kili shrugged and grinned, "You were probably there, you know."

"Hmm, small world." She smiled in agreement. "This has been fun."

"Yeah, you want another?" Kili tilted his head towards Tauriel's empty glass. "Or do you want to grab some dinner?"

"Dinner sounds wonderful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, part two of this fic :)  
> (also for some reason, my headcanon for Fili in modern AUs is ace, it just seems to fit his character /shrug)  
> I have a [Tumblr](http://andalusa.tumblr.com), and prompts are open again, so come say hi or [leave a prompt](http://andalusa.tumblr.com/ask) if you like?


End file.
